Why I’m going to trial for taking action against the shooting industry
The countryside should not be the playground of elites
In exactly one week I’ll be sitting in a dreary beige courtroom, under the watchful eye of judge and jury, at Southwark Crown Court.
It’s been three years since I took part in a protest which exposed the hidden world of the hunting and shooting industries; industries profiteering from the chasing, tormenting, and killing of animals. Masquerading as “sport” and hiding cruelty behind smokescreens and claims of ‘conservation’, hunting and shooting consistently evade laws and accountability, at the expense of the countryside and wildlife already struggling to survive in Britain’s underprotected moors, fields, and forests.
In 2022, myself and two other women painted the storefront of William Evans LTD, an elite shooting outlet in swanky St James, London. Our visual protest was part of the March for Love and Resistance, where thousands of people came together to call on the government to take a stand for animals and nature, and build a fair and just world for everyone.
We used cruelty-free green paint to draw flowers and trees, imagining the rewilding of Britain’s land and the revival of its natural habitats. I drew the words “love” and “liberate” with my finger; my values distilled into the two words that underpin why I take action, and allow me to dream of a kinder future.
Our visual protest aimed to depict a positive vision of the natural world, in contrast to the cruel reality of industries which cause untold harm to wildlife, ecosystems, and the tens of millions of birds it breeds in factory farms just to shoot out of the sky.
83% of the British public oppose hunting with hounds and a 2018 survey found that 70% wanted recreational ‘sport shooting’ made illegal, yet massive lobbying power has ensured weakened laws and regulations. Not only have successive governments allowed the industry to get away with cruelty, but they have also been bankrolling these archaic practices using taxpayers’ money. Taxpayers pay landowners huge amounts for ‘conservation work’ that turns woodland and moors into shoots. Hunts pocket public money too. Protect the Wild recently revealed that over £2.4 million pounds has been handed out to hunting parties since the hunting ban came into effect in 2004. This money has been paid out regardless of whether the hunting party has been involved in criminal activity.
If so many of the British public believe that hunting and shooting should be consigned to history, why do these archaic practices still cling on?
As always, the answer is found in the overpowering influence of the wealthy. Whilst the majority of the population see hunting and shooting as outdated and cruel pastimes, those who do it are amongst the most powerful in the country. These figures - from the Royals and the aristocracy to hedge-fund managers and cosplaying celebrities - leverage their lobbying power to influence parliament to favour the interests of the few over the values of the many.
The British countryside should be a haven for wildlife and nature, not the playground of elites.
When I stood in front of William Evans, on that day in October, heart racing, and put my fingers into the pale green paint, then onto the glass of a shop that exemplifies the untouchable world of killing for “fun”, I imagined this future: a future where foxes and their cubs can run without fear; where pheasants aren’t factory farmed and a grouse’s curiosity isn’t a death sentence; where birds of prey can soar high in the sky, never to be shot down to ‘protect’ so-called ‘gamebirds; where ecosystems can thrive; where carbon remains trapped in the moorland instead of released by moorburning, where the law doesn’t regard the shooting of birds as a “good reason” to own a firearm.
Wildlife and nature are in crisis, but in a country where everything is available to the highest bidder, current wildlife protection laws and hunting bans aren’t enough. We need urgent action, and that’s what we were calling for when we painted the windows of one of the most elite ‘country sports’ retailers in the UK.
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Thank you Zuki and friends for putting yourselves in the front line, taking action and being taken to trial on behalf of the 80% and 70% of us in agreement with you and Protect The Wild. I doubt you'll get justice for bringing to light those who commit the attrocities against wildlife too often against the law. What you wrote here is precise, correct and intelligent which should be acknowledged by the justice system but as you say, money and lobby power will over-ride sense and truth. I wish you luck in court next week or more accurately, Justice.
Very brave young women. You’re absolutely right, there should be no place for cruelty in our countryside. Wish there were more people like you.